Sam's Blog

Link: http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/gardenstate/

So I have to admit, Homecoming was spectacular. The parade itself wasn’t so stellar, but the people made it good. I was impressed by the great turnout. Despite the coldness (it is getting colder here and it’s only October, kinda reminds me of Modesto) everyone hung out and watched the parade outside and stayed for Sara Bareilles. The night started off with happy hour at Chili’s. Despite the slow service for our drinks, we got free food and it was yummy. I met up with Nate there and Eva, a great friend and the coordinator of the event, was super busy with sign ups and such. I ran into Natascha again, I think that’s a sign that we should hang out more. Sat with her and Ariel for a while and then saw Skandrew, whom I haven’t seen in 3 years. Then everybody arrived all at once. Lisa, Angie, Jenn, Marty, Darling, Kaplan, Ernie, and the fabulous Nemika. I haven’t talked to Nemika in so long. She looks as hot as ever! She lost some weight or something because her booty is not as big as it used to be. As a fellow founding member of the GBC (Ghetto Booty Club), she was embarrassed. She said that she should’ve done more “side bends and sit-ups,” but there’s still some cushion left. Mich Garr and Dre and her brother got there later and the place was crowded and bumpin’. Our waiter was so slow and we were only able to get one margarita in and I had to down it because the parade was going to start. I hopped over to Enzo’s, where Josh was eating dinner with his friends to say a quick hello. (Josh really isn’t into any of these types of events, but he did come by later). Walked back to the parade and watched and all of the sudden I see someone in the parade run out towards me, it was Cameron. He hugged me so hard and lifted me off my feet and took my breath away. It was fabulous. He’s visiting from Utah (hopefully staying in LA forever). I miss that guy so much. I forgot how much fun we had together. Right after that, walked over to the Alumni tent and on the way, I saw Badge. I was elated. Badge is lovely, he’s a nice great teddy bear and the huggablest person ever. I haven’t seen him in a few months and it was so awesome to hang out with him again. I chatted with Vanessa and Brittney and had a grand ‘ole time. Rob, Mich Boo, Bank, Josh and others arrived. Then Sara went on stage and she was as fabulous as ever. She had a few new songs and they were groovy. She’s such a sensual singer. Wow.

After the parade, we all went to Maloney’s, where the Alumni Association had a private room with cheap drinks. It’s the first time that I’ve been to the downstairs room there. It was a lot nicer than I expected. The waitress was hot and we found out that she went to the same high school as Angie. I ran into some random people that I haven’t seen in 4-5 years, like Sandeep and Priti, a girl I use to work with on campus my freshman year. The biggest surprise of the night was when Alexis showed up with her old roomie Sharon. The funny thing is that they didn’t even know that Homecoming was going on, they came because they were bored. I had a beer (which I don’t normally do, but hey, it was free) and then a Tokyo iced tea (even though I wanted to find a new drink, but I couldn’t think of any at that time). I was feeling good and we stayed there for hours. I knew that I drank too much when I screamed, “I love Bon Jovi!” when the song, “Living on a Prayer” came on. People stopped and stared, but I didn’t care, I really do love Bon Jovi. It was wonderful seeing everybody again. It felt like I was an old O-staff/SAA party or something, but I knew I wasn’t because we were all older, but it was just as good as one. It was just what I needed after a very unusual day.

Current mood: Reminiscent
Current music: “One of These Things First” – Nick Drake
Thought of the day: I need to keep in touch better with my friends, especially those that I saw last night.

Link: http://www.beatles.com

Today has been a whirlwind of emotions. I don’t know if I’m happy or sad or agitated. It’s rare for me to feel this way, but I hate it. My lip feels better. My body feels better. I am amazed because I only got a few hours of sleep. My appetite has been strange lately. I didn’t have dinner these past two nights. If you know me at all, you know that’s unusual. It’s been a roller coaster of a day already and I am not even done with work. I have mixed emotions – happiness, guilt, restlessness, sadness, anxiety. I can’t explain it. I can’t even comprehend it myself. Candy, too much candy today, too much sugar.

I am wearing my orange sweater and black pants, very festive indeed. I never wear my orange sweater that much anymore. I call it my “party” sweater because I use to wear it to raves all of the time. It’s so soft and amazing. I should wear it more.

A patient brought empanadas for breakfast, yum! And then Amgen sponsored lunch again (twice in one week, that’s unusual, but great) and I am going to Chili’s for free food for Homecoming. So I call it free food day. But I could hardly finish my lunch. I just wasn’t hungry. I hope that dinner will be better for me. We had a pumpkin-carving contest at work and you can see my pumpkin below. Carving is harder than it looks. It took me a good hour to do this. Maybe I am challenged, but it was hard.

A nurse brought her baby son, Jake, to the luncheon and I posted his picture on my moblog, his picture should be on the left. He’s so cute and he’s dressed up as a lion. I love how everyone (including myself) turns to mush whenever there’s a baby around.

Amidst all of the fun, it was crazy busy for me today. I wanted to scream. A few of my friends are in trouble and I can’t do anything to help. I think that I’ve done enough in some cases. I don’t want to make things worse. I hate seeing people in pain.

One of my favorite patients came in today. I’ve gotten to know her and her family these past two years. It’s her last treatment today. Her last one ever. She’s going to have hospice care once she leaves here. It can be a matter of days or a few weeks until she dies, it all depends. She looked so weak. I can’t look at her at all anymore. I’m so sad for her, but she tells me that I shouldn’t be. She’s ready to die. The hardest part is that she’s a few years older than me and she has a son. I couldn’t handle it. I cried and cried, like a baby. I couldn’t take it. I can’t work here anymore. I hate cancer. I have to stop writing…

I’m back, more composed. On a lighter note, I love my new bubble gum chapstick. A drug rep gave it to me and it’s the best. I’m going to leave and go to Homecoming. I am hoping that seeing old friends and drinking will help me feel better.

Current mood: Hopeful
Current music: “Don’t Stop Believing” – Journey
Thought of the day: Pumpkins are icky-sticky!

So I went to the UCLA store today after work. Big mistake. I always forget how crazy it gets there. Ran into Alex Kaplan (former Student Alumni Association president) there. I haven't seen him in months. He just started law school at Loyola and is keeping quite busy. The store was such a madhouse that I lost him. Oh well, I will see him tomorrow night at Homecoming. He told me that Gallo (Ryan Gallo, fellow O-staffer and SAA cohort) wasn't going to be there tomorrow night. That made me kinda sad because I haven't seen him in a while. He had to work tomorrow night so he can get Saturday off so he could go to the game. I miss Gallo's tailgates. They were the best. Getting drunk in the morning before a football game is one of the best feelings ever. Anyway, it took me so long to sift through the stuff at the store and I finally was able to find shoes for Josh (I was going to surprise him), but then this short Asian girl walked by and totally elbowed me in the lower lip. It hurt so bad. It still does, hours later. I wouldn't be so mad except that she didn't even stop or apologize. That's one of the reasons why I didn't like Asian girls. I don't mind some of then now (especially since some of them are my best friends) but Asian girls and I never got along in high school or even the beginning of college. I don't hate my own kind or anything, but it was just that I didn't mesh well with them. I consider myself Southeast Asian (since I am Cambodian) so there is a huge distinction when people use the word "Asian" as a whole. Anyway, she was rude and it really hurt. I had to put ice on it when I got home. I did get a lot of things from there so I could make my trip worth it. I will be wearing the sweatshirt at tomorrow night's event. It's still throbbing and I am hoping the meds I took will work soon.

I think I am getting sick. It's a horrible feeling and I think that I am coming down with something fierce. My body is fighting hard to resist it, but I am not sure that it will work. Or maybe I am just getting run down. I don't know, we will see. I am hoping for the best.

Plug: Go watch A Burning Thing that Randy is putting on. I haven't seen it yet, but I am planning to this weekend. Come join me if you want! I hear it's great.

Mood: Irritated a bit
Music: "Down in It" - Nine Inch Nails
Thought of the Day: Don't go the the annual UCLA student store sale, ever again. Remember my fat lip.

Link: http://www.ucla.edu

I just got back from a quasi-think-tank-type discussion about the UCLA Alumni Association. It was so intense. They locked us up in a small room with six other people and asked us different questions about UCLA, the Alumni Association, and much much more. I haven't been in a room of strangers (all except Natascha and I kinda knew Miki but not very well) and was forced to talk to them about my UCLA experience and how to improve the Alumni network, etc. In the end, though, it seemed like we came up with a lot of good points and it was very productive. I also got a $50 gift certificate to the UCLA store. Score! The Halloween sale is tomorrow, yay! We did come to a consensus in our discussion that USC does have a better alumni network, but we realized that we do have tons more students than they do and they are a private school, so there! The title of this entry is a line from our fight song...love the music, but the words are not that impressive. But then I realized that all fight songs at every university suck, so it's okay.

Josh just got the Wong Kar Wai boxed set and Season 1 of Arrested Development I am so excited to watch everything all over again! I guess that's what I will be doing this weekend. Fun! Sometimes I prefer watching things that I've seen before because I already know what it's about already. I hate renting movies or even watching new ones in the theaters because there are times when I don't want to be disappointed. And I think this weekend is one of them. Besides, nothing good is coming out for a while. I'm waiting for The Incredibles to come out! I think it's opening in 8 days! I've been waiting for so long.

So I have been wearing the yellow Lance Armstrong LIVE STRONG wristband/bracelet and it's cool and all, but it feels like I'm joining in on the trend. I'm not a poser, I swear. I wear it because I support cancer research and considering the fact that I work at the cancer center, I am justified. But no, I'm not a Tour de France afficionado or anything.

Plug: Come to the Homecoming Bar Crawl on Friday night and join me and some friends to free food and cheap drinks. Sara Bareilles is going to be there. She's sultry and really fit! It'll be totally worth it.

Current mood: Feeling groovy
Current music: "Respect" - Erasure
Deep thought of the day: "It is possible to "get" someone without even knowing them that well."

Link: http://www.eternalsunshine.com/

So the museum thing didn't happen, but I am not too sad. We thought that sleep was better for us all anyway. Josh and I had to clean though. Our apartment is still a bit of a mess from the party. But Josh went to go see Team America and I instead chose to have dinner with Lisa at the wonderful Poquito Mas.

It was game night and I don't know why I get so bothered by this, but it's so irritating when I see people in bright red USC shirts/sweaters around MY side of town. I know that they just got back from the game and their team is #1, but it's so irritating!! They obviously don't remember their losing streak from years past nor understand that UCLA and USC will probably never be both ranked in the Top 10 (well, in this case, not even the top 25). It always has to be one or the other and its USC's time now. A few years later will be UCLA. But even when we were winning, I don't recall a swarm of Bruins going into East LA to eat at USC restaurants and such. Maybe I was too young. Or maybe it's because the neighborhood isn't safe, either way, by the large groups of crimson that I saw at Poquito Mas, I am assuming that USC fans like the Westside neighborhoods better. I guess that's a tiny victory after all. It's funny because I was never really into school spirit or our rivalry, except for when I was doing SAA and Orientation and when I dressed up as Lil Kim, tiny sticker and all. I see them all over the village, especially around Diddy Riese. I have no problem with USC students, just the ones who wear their paraphernalia around my hood, purposely. I don't mean to go all ghetto, but it's my territory yo! Well anyways, I had a great conversation with Lisa. Very genuine and inspiring and comfortable all at the same time which makes me wonder why she is still single. Come on guys! She's perfectly sarcastic, witty, and charming. Period.

I asked her to come to Tripp and Kurt's party with me and she decided to go. I knew that I wouldn't know that many people there and that allowed us an opportunity to catch up on each other's lives. The party was a fascinating experience in social interactions. [I didn’t drink as much as I would have liked to. I don’t know why, but alcohol and I are not mixing these days. I try to get out of being DD on most occasions because I want to drink, but I hardly get a buzz anymore. I need a new drink. The Tokyo iced teas are great when I go out to a bar or club, but it’s hard to recreate at a house party. Amaretto sours are good, but too sweet. And I wonder why no parties I’ve been to lately have any sweet and sour. Maybe I should bring a bottle to every one I go to. That’s a thought. Cosmopolitans have a potential for being good, but most of them are not. You will believe me once you’ve had a bad one. My roommates and I a few years ago developed a drink called “anal sex” that was part orange juice, part grenadine and part Bacardi Limon (or Malibu, whichever one we had). It makes a very interesting color and it’s awesome, but I got tired of those too. I can’t handle carbonated or acidic drinks well either. Damn, I’m picky. But anyway, if you guys have any suggestions for new drinks, let me know.] Anyway, the party was fun. It was amusing. The hosts were so drunk when I walked in the door and hilarity ensued. But it came to an end when the fire alarm went off in the building. Bummer. Buzzkill. I had a great time. Tripp later said that one of the guys at the party called me a “slutty nonprogram girl,” which is interesting because Josh was at the party too. Oh well, that guy doesn’t know me obviously, so whatever. Interesting night overall.

Went to Ventura on Sunday to see Josh’s family. As usual, Josh and his dad got into a “discussion” about politics. So I listened and then tuned it out and started writing and such. It's funny how they always do that when they are together. It's so hard to talk politics with family. It seems like everyone is so stubborn. But it was fascinating to hear both sides for a while. We watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind with his mom. It's so much better the second time around. I love it. I love Kate Winslet. She's on my "jump the fence" list, as is many others. Curious? Email me.

Anyway, Monday was nice. I've been logging onto AIM Express secretly so IM me if you get bored during the day at work, I will most likely be at my desk a majority of the time. It was so busy at work that time flew by so fast. Didn't realize how late it was until I looked at the clock and it was 5:15. I had to make some copies and alas, I broke the copy machine again. It really wasn't my fault though. But it was fixed when I got back this morning, so I am sure that it wasn't hard to fix. I was finally able to lay low last night and caught up on some emails and stuff and typed most of this blog (I really need to start posting daily). I got into some interesting and deep online conversations and then went to bed. It was just what I needed, relaxation.

Today was great. I felt a bit euphoric for some reason and it was a very pleasant day. Free lunch (thanks to Amgen) and overall, it was wonderful. I had dinner with M at The Cheesecake Factory yum! She's leaving for DC tomorrow for an interview with the feds and I wish her all the luck! In this bad economy and all, she's had 4 job interviews within the past year and got all of the jobs (assuming that she gets this one). She's very sought after and she's also fit, so maybe that's part of the reason. If she does get the job and accept it, I will be ecstatic for her, but I don't want her to move to DC, I will miss her too much. But we will see. After dinner, I went to play poker at Shahab's. There was a large group this time, around 8 people. I still suck at poker though, but I luckily was not the first one out. It took a long time for the game to end, but we were rewarded with the new episode of Scrubs. It was awesome and my man Zach Braff directed it. What's with my thing for dorky white boys? I guess I will never know.

Link: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0110950/

Finally was able to see Jon Stewart’s controversial appearance on Crossfire. It was amazing. The best television I’ve seen in a long time. I’ve always liked Jon Stewart and The Daily Show, but this was just beautiful. I loved his responses that he gave on his show on Monday. Yeah, so, he called someone a dick on national television. I guess it could’ve been worse. It’s sad because I miss that show so much. Since moving into my new apartment, I’ve been living without cable. That’s weird because ever since I can remember, I’ve always had cable, whether it be satellite, in the dorms, or kinda illegally (3rd year of college). But then I realized that I didn’t need it. The shows that I watch are on the major stations that I get anyway and the other shows that I like are all on HBO (except for The Daily Show). I know that I will have to go over to Lisa’s apartment when The Soprano’s, Six Feet Under, or all of the other shows are on. But we have been doing quite well with downloading a lot of the episodes, so cable isn’t really a necessity. I find that I am doing so much more instead of plopping down and watching the TV. I realized that there is really nothing to watch and even the news is getting to me. Too sensationalist for my taste I guess.

I’ve been really tired lately. I blamed it on the rain the beginning of the week, because since I am not use to it yet, it’s really discouraging to go out and do anything while it’s raining. It’s also because people in LA freak out when it rains and traffic is horrible and people don’t know how to drive when the roads are wet. Everyone is crabby or bitter or something as well. So anyway, social life is not very exciting, but I was able to hang out with people all week. We finally organized “Tito’s and Scrubs” night and Nate, Amy, and Angela came over and we had a lot of fun! It seems like we’re all in good places in our life (even though there are little things here and there that may bother us). Amy is happy because of her new relationship. Nate’s happy because he is working less and is able to hang out with us. Angela is happier at work and is glad that Randy is back from NY. And Josh is always happy for the most part, except when he procrastinates on his animation homework. Then he is stressed and stays up all night finishing it (i.e. like last night).

On Wednesday night, I went to Monsoon for happy hour with Lisa and Calleja. We ate so much sushi, it was amazing. I found out that if I were sushi, I would be the spicy yellowtail. It’s funny because I’ve heard it before. What’s funnier is that it’s one of my favorite types of sushi, go figure. We went shopping and I got new brown pants from Old Navy and a whole bunch of other things. That store is so hit and miss most of the time, but I was very lucky on this occasion. It was great to see Calleja again, she keeps working so much and she needs to work on getting a license! On Thursday, M and I had dinner. She’s been way busy with work and school and papers and such. I can’t believe she’s going to school and working full time. Crazy girl! We always have things to talk about even though we see each other every week and we talk on the phone a lot in-between. I guess we both have a lot to say to each other. We went to BJ’s and she liked our waiter. He was pretty good looking, so I said, go for it, but she is way too shy. I wanted to go to an Elliott Smith tribute concert that my friend, Arthur, was putting together, but I was so tired from the entire week and I crashed at home. I watch ER and went to bed. Not as exciting as the concert, but I can only do so much. R.I.P. Elliott Smith. There was a long period of time where I couldn’t listen to your music because it was way too sad. “Needle in the Hay” didn’t make it onto my compilation that I made of sad songs called, “Songs to Kill Yourself To” because it was TOO depressing. That’s when I knew that I had to take a break from you Elliott. Now that your new album is out and you are in a better place, I will give you more time in my life. I’m sorry that it took so long. I would hear you on Josh’s computer or watch your live concerts, but those were little tidbits and you deserve better than that. Maybe I didn’t go to your tribute concert because it’s too soon. I can’t hear other people singing your songs yet. It won’t sound right. So I didn’t go and I instead fell asleep reading Jon Stewart’s, America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction. It’s the funniest thing I’ve read in a long time. I highly recommend it and if you want to borrow it when I’m done, please do so.

On a different note, I have been getting these really bad headaches all week and some minor tooth pain. I hope my body is not slowly falling apart already. But it’s weird though because the past few days, my headaches have been mainly in the back left side of my brain. I hope it’s nothing serious. I just take some extra strength Tylenol or Advil and it goes away for a few hours.

Yay!! I finally got a new eraser for the dry erase board at work! It makes such a big difference!!

Had dinner tonight with Angela and Josh and Co. at Noodle Planet and then went to see Randy's band, Ill Again, perform at the Conga Room. It was fun and they had a lot of new songs. I like their style and I’ve been following them for a while and they have been making some positive changes to their songs. James came with us to the show and had a great ‘ole time. James is great and I really enjoy his company. Josh’s friends in his program are good and talented people and I am glad that he is surrounded by them constantly. I’m sure it allows his creative juices to flow, if you know what I mean. But it’s late and I am suppose to go to a museum with Lisa tomorrow…can’t decide which one!

Link: http://www.toriamos.com/

"Happy Phantom" - Tori Amos

It’s been raining here since Saturday night, off and on and it’s actually kinda nice. It’s been gradually getting colder and colder at night. We are keeping the windows closed now and it’s starting to get cozy. I enjoy the rain when I am ready for it. The weather lately has been sunny and hot during the day and cold at night, so it was a bit surprising when it started to rain. I had just finished dinner at BJ’s with a few friends (more on that later) and it started to lightly sprinkle. On our way home, it started to get heavier and heavier. Granted, I did hear on the news that there was a chance of rain, but in LA, that is usually means that it will be “cloudy.” So I was pleasantly surprised. I was happy that it didn’t rain on Friday because that was the night of our party.

The party was fun and I didn’t go to bed until 6 in the morn’. A lot of people came, mostly from Josh’s program, and they filled up our living room and balcony. At one point, there were about 40 people there, at least, so Josh and I were really happy about the turnout. Food and drinks were a plenty and I had a lot of fun. There were very interesting conversations all around. There was talk about pirates, princesses, boobies and more. Nate, Rizzy, James, and Corey all crashed at our place and when I got up in the morning, only Nate and James were left. I surprisingly got up at 11:00am the next day and I couldn’t go back to bed. We brunched at the Omelette Parlor and then went to Jon’s new apartment in Venice. It’s a very quaint studio loft. Jon is one of Nate’s best friends back in St. Louis and we have been occasionally hanging out with him and his girlfriend, Erica, and we all get along so well. Josh and Jon are very similar creatures and it’s nice to see him find someone as dorky as he is! He he he!! We all chilled and then went to BJ’s for dinner because their friend, David, was in town from home. It was a very great and random day and the rain made it a lot more random than usual.

Sunday was nice. I made breakfast for the first time in weeks and it actually was good. Had coffee with Angela and we went shopping at Macy’s in Century City. We couldn’t find the juniors section and it was frustrating. There was a small section where the “hip and trendy” clothes were, but that was it. It was very disappointing. I guess I will know that for future reference. Afterwards, Josh and I met up with Kurt and Tripp and went to Resfest to see the Jonathan Glazer retrospective. He has done some great videos and commercials. A few that come to mind are “Karma Police,” by Radiohead and “Rabbit in Your Headlights,” by Unkle. He did a lot of great commercials ranging from Guinness to Levi’s. There was an after party, but it was on the patio of the Egyptian theater and it started to rain pretty hard for a while, so we hung out for a bit and then went home. Overall, it was a good weekend, filled with new people and chance encounters with the rain, but I do need to get more sleep.

Thanks for the postcard Amy! It looks absolutely beautiful there.

M, the color change was inspired by the smurfiness in you! I really like it because it’s so bright. Din din tomorrow hopefully, if you finish your paper in time!

Link: http://disneyland.disney.go.com/dlr/index?bhcp=1

"It’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all, it’s a small, small world."

It’s funny that with the many millions of people there are in this world, it seems like we’re all connected in one way or another. It’s like the blanket theory in I Heart Huckabees. The reason why I am bringing this up is because on Sunday, I received a voicemail from my friend Gavin, whom I haven’t talked to in a while. He just moved to the city (city = San Francisco, to me) and he told me that he had just met a few of my friends, Dan and Bekah (who both just recently moved to the city as well). As a matter of fact, I got an email from Dan that morning stating that he just moved to the city and I noticed that he lived 2 big blocks away from Gavin but I thought nothing of it because it’s such a big city. They all left awesome messages and I am glad that my friends are becoming friends with my other friends. The circle just keeps on getting bigger!

The past weekend was so tiring. I am still recovering from it. I went to sleep at 4:30 am on both Friday and Saturday night. On Friday, I went to happy hour again with Alexis and went shopping. Then I went to Saddle Ranch for Antonio’s get together and finally met some of his medical school friends. M was ready to meet them because she was wearing her I Heart Nerds shirt. She’s funny! She rode the mechanical bull and fell off all 3 times! She’s so funny. We went to Norms, like usual, afterwards and I fell asleep right when I hit the pillow. Check out some pictures below:

On Saturday, I had brunch with Amy and Angela at the new crepe place on 3rd street promenade. It was yummy! Then we went to Anthropologie (one of my favorite shops) and then we went to the new gelato place and had a scoop of gelato. Yummy!! It was our European day in Santa Monica.

That night, our friend Corey (he’s in Josh’s animation program) was throwing a party to help people to register to vote and it was going to have DJ/VJ’s there and drinks and such. The headlining performer was TV Sheriff and his Videoape accompanied him. Josh, Regis, Donna, Kurt, Tripp, Rachael, and James all went. Rob was suppose to VJ after TV Sheriff’s performance, but it was cut short because some random crazy person came and flipped over the tables that all of the electronic equipment were on and broke Rob's monitor. It sucked. It was a total buzzkill and very unnecessary. We never caught the guy that did it. Luckily, he was able to recover all of the stuff from his computer, but it made VJing really hard to do without his monitor. Poor guy. But at least I was able to get to know Tripp and Rachael and all of Josh's friends more that night.

The next day, I went to visit my mom. I don't see her as often as I should, but I am glad that we do see each other more often than when I was in college. Our relationship is very unconventional, so I take every opportunity I can to see her. I had to rush back to LA to go to Maggiano's for Amy's birthday dinner. We got her a gift certificate for a massage and I realized that I have never had a real professional massage. I need to work on that, perhaps put it on my "to do" list. It was nice to see the gang and especially Nate. He brought his friend Katie, who I haven't seen in a really long time as well. Nate's been so hit and miss lately because he works 90 hours a week and I miss seeing him and hanging out. I also miss 4th year when we were roommates and instead of studying, we would stay up all night watching movies. I do miss being a student in a sense. I miss the part where I can have some of my afternoons free and have coffee with my friends inbetween classes and such. Everything's so regimented and I can never get my errands done during the weekdays. When I had lunch with Eva, I walked up to campus and saw so many students walking around (for a Friday) and they looked so young! It made me and Eva feel really old. The freshmen were born in 1986! It's crazy! Plug for Eva's event: Please email me questions about the young alumni pre-homecoming party. I will email details if anyone is interested.

Nothing too eventful this week. I had a rough day at work on Monday and M took me out for some cheesecake. Tuesday was much better and we went to Maria's Italian Kitchen for dinner. M was hot for our waiter, who looked like a cross between Rivers Cuomo (Weezer) and a guy from my high school, Josh Grose (who coincidentally goes to UCLA). He was cute, in a nerdy sort of way and that's how she likes them. Then it was poker time at Shahab's. Much fun was had, but I got there too late, so I ended up watching them play. I still am not that good at the game, but we will see when I get a chance to practice. I just got poker chips today but opted for the cheap plastic kind because it's my starter set. Shahab has professional chips made out of some sort of clay material and it's nice. I don't think I am at that level yet.

Today, Lisa and I were suppose to watch a sneak preview of Ray, but the line was really long and we didn't feel like standing out in the cold for a long time and then not be let in. (It's getting so cold at night now!) So we went to Marie Callender's instead and had a blast. I did not realize how much time has gone by since we saw each other last, but I always have fun with her. She stopped by the apartment to check out my new abode and we hung out. It was a very pleasant evening indeed. Now all I have to think about is cleaning up and getting ready for the party.

Link: http://www.marsvenus.com/

Yay! My site is back up again, thanks to Josh!! I hope that it doesn't go down again, arrgh! It's frustrating. It's not like I have much to say anyway!

I wrote this post on October 6th and when I tried to post it, my site was down:

I had Tito's Tacos last night with Angela and it's weird how that place brings me back so many memories. It's not the same memory over and over because I went there with so many people so many different times. I was introduced to it by Gabe and from then on, I was hooked. It later evolved into "Tito's and Friends" night and we would go there Thursday nights and bring it back to my apartment and invite people over and hang out and watch Friends (even though it wasn't that good of a show and a majority of us were there to watch Scrubs). This may not seem like fun to you, but believe me, it was great, simple fun. During the off-season, it would change to Sunday nights for "Tito's and Sex and the City." But alas, all of the shows are gone, except for ER and Scrubs, but yet we have not organized a Tito's night in so long. Nate and Amy are in Hollywood and Mike P. is either in the Valley or in class and Andrea is in Denver. But I am determined to bring it back! Even so, Angela and I are still going to go to Tito's anyway, but I do realize that it is becoming harder for all of us to get together nowadays and that saddens me. I am glad that we
are able to see each other as often as we do though, but I wish that we can do it more. The "post-adolescent idealistic phase" is over and reality is setting in.

Angela and I had a very in-depth conversation about the differences between how men interact with each other as opposed to how women interact with each other amongst their friends. There are different dynamics involved in each scenario. Most guys I know when they are with their guy friends, they are very superficial, like just talking about surface things. Sometimes guys don't talk about much at all. Whereas, girls (i.e. Sex and the City) can sit around and talk and talk about anything and everything with their trusted friends anytime. Or maybe that's just in my case, in which I am very grateful, but it seems to be something that is commonplace. I guess men are indeed from Mars and women are definitely from Venus. I am just an observer most of the time to all of the interactions that take place around me and it's astounding how different friendships are among men and women. This is not something new to me, but it is becoming more apparent to me as I get older.

The past few days have been nice. Work has been great and I have been able to relax when I get home. Josh and I have been watching Six Feet Under from the beginning and it is a very good show, a bit gruesome in some scenes, but still so good. Peter Krause is a hottie too, which helps. But in other news, the apartment is pretty much set up now and we are thinking of having a party soon. Josh says that it feels like a totally different apartment now. We are starting to put up posters and decorations and it is beginning to feel like home. It's a wonderful feeling.

Amy, you're older than you've ever been, and now you're even older…we will celebrate this weekend!

I am looking forward to this weekend so much! Only a few hours left. Pretty soon, I am going to meet up with Eva for lunch. I haven't seen her or the girls in a while, but we vowed to watch all things JFK soon before the anniversary of his death, so I am excited! Saddle Ranch tonight and Corey's party tomorrow night. Brunch on Sunday with Amy and the gang and much more, I am sure. I hope my sore throat goes away so I can enjoy my weekend!

Hey Sam,

I had a brainstorm while sleeping about how to fix your blog so I got up, tried it, and low and behold... IT WORKED (as you can obviously see).

I had a backup of all your posts from right up to the initial server outage last week, but I don't have any of your posts made during that brief time that the site was working, so you'll have to copy and paste them from Word or retype them if you don't have them saved. Also, since I had to manually re-enter all the database info, I'd recommend that you browse through your blog and double-check that all you posts are here.

Feel free to delete this post, BTW.

Love ya,
Josh